Alfre Woodard Cast as U.S. President in NBC’s ‘State of Affairs’

Alfre Woodard is moving straight from “12 Years a Slave” into the White House.

The Oscar-nominated actress will play the role of President Roberta Payton in NBC’s “State of Affairs,” the drama starring former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl.

Heigl stars as Charleston “Charlie” Whitney Tucker, a CIA agent plucked from her job to become the President’s legal debriefer. The show has been described as “Scandal meets The West Wing,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.